Hadith on the Prophet Putting His Tongue in Hasan’s Mouth

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم

“It is related that Abu Hurayra said, “I never see al-Hasan without my eyes overflowing with tears. That is because the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out one day and I found him in the mosque. He took my hand and I went along with him. He did not speak to me until we reached the market of Banu Qaynuqa’. He walked around it and looked. Then he left and I left with him until we reached the mosque. He sat down and wrapped himself in his garment. Then he said, ‘Where is the little one? Call the little one to me.’ Hasan came running and jumped into his lap. Then he put his hand in his beard. Then the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, opened his mouth and put his tongue in his mouth. Then he said, O Allah, I love him, so love him and the one who loves him!'””

Source: Adab Al-Mufrad, 48:1183, https://sunnah.com/urn/2211390.

Status: Hasan (good) according to Al-Albani

Explanation: In this age of misinformation, even the most straight-forward hadith concerning Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is used by ignorant trolls with an axe to grind. This hadith is one example. As the text demonstrates, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) greatly loved his grandson Hasan. One would think that this hadith would not generate any controversy, but alas, due to the imaginative minds of certain vile characters on the Internet, the innocent act of putting one’s tongue in the mouth of a grandfather putting his tongue in the mouth of his grandson is somehow interpreted as a sexual act! I suppose these same shady characters regard blowing on a child’s navel as sexual in some way, rather than as an innocent act of playful love between parent/grandparent and child?

In any case, where is the implication in the hadith, besides in the very imaginative minds of the apparently sexually-frustrated trolls, that there was any sexual passion involved? In another version of this hadith from Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet kissed Hasan (though it does not say how or where).[1] But what is wrong with a grandfather kissing his grandson, even if it was on the lips? It is just another innocent act of love that many parents engage in with their infants and toddlers. Kissing one’s child on the lips does not imply sexual passion, and it is actually quite normal.[2]

The Prophet would also chew food, such as dates, and put it in the mouths of infants and children.[3] He could have done that by hand or by mouth, and this would have been a completely normal practice known as “premastication”.[4]

So what is the problem here? Clearly, there is nothing in the hadith that is problematic. The problem is in the diseased minds of trolls with nothing better to do than to make outrageous claims about the sexual orientation of a man who lived more than 1400 years ago, purely out of hate and ignorance. Perhaps these people are themselves sexually frustrated. Or perhaps they just really have nothing better to do.

[1] Sahih Bukhari, 34:75, https://sunnah.com/bukhari/34/75.

[2] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/it-is-fine-to-kiss-your-k_b_10999590

[3] Sahih Bukhari, 78:33, https://sunnah.com/bukhari/78/33.

[4] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2009.00200.x